Leaving
by TheQueenAndHerSwan
Summary: What happens when Regina leaves town, but is still secretly in love with Emma Swan?


Regina's Mercedes pulled up to the town line, her front bumper a few feet from the orange spray paint on the ground, signaling the limits of Storybrooke. She stepped out of her car, the sound of her heels comforting her as she closed her door, and took a few steps towards oblivion. The second she crossed that line, things were going to change. No one in Storybrooke liked her any more, including her son. He had refused to talk to her for over a month, literally moving all of his things out of his room when she wasn't home, and into his birth mother's house. It was as if she didn't exist at all.

The past couple months the only person who acknowledged her was the Savior, Emma Swan. Regina couldn't stand the way she seemed to be around every corner of her life, every time she caught herself day dreaming, it was always of the blonde sheriff. She dreamed that one day Emma would ask her out on a date, kiss her, and tell her that everything was going to be okay. But Regina knew that could never happen; the Savior and Evil Queen could never be together. After Robin had gone through the portal with Marian and Roland, her mind was consumed with the blonde. She couldn't get her out of her head.

Since Henry no longer spoke to her, it was harder to see Emma, and she had found herself sneaking out during the work day in order to give her a message she could have told her over the phone. She wanted more than anything for Emma to wrap her in her arms and tell her that she loved her. If Emma liked her enough to speak to her, she figured Henry would too. Emma had been taking her to lunch nearly every Tuesday at Granny's, but Regina had a feeling that it was out of pity. This afternoon after lunch with the sheriff, she drove herself home on autopilot, and packed a bag. Never looking back. She was no one's charity case, if Emma didn't love her, if Henry didn't love her, she was just going to have to leave. Crossing the town line meant that she couldn't come back, even if she wanted to.

Leaving meant she would never be able to see the two people she loved most, even if they didn't know it, and that was the price she was willing to pay. She couldn't just sit back and watch them play happy family with people that weren't her. She wanted to be able to come home after work every day and have her girlfriend waiting for her on the porch, or her son playing football with his mother in the backyard. She wanted a family, and she couldn't watch them live out their happy lives without her. Crossing the town line was the only way to fix that. The other side of that line she could be happy, she could find someone that made her feel special, and that loved her for her, and didn't know about her past life as the Evil Queen.

Gulping audibly, Regina clambered back into her car, silently praying that she packed everything that she needed once she crossed the barrier. She had already made arrangements for herself once she reached Boston, and was determined to make a life for herself there. Regina turned the key, making her car engine roar to life, closing her eyes, remembering all the good times she had with her son and the Savior, she prepared herself for what was going to happen. Opening her eyes, she pushed on the gas, barely allowing her car to go over ten miles an hour as she passed over the line. Once across, she put in her ear buds, and blasted her music, determined to forget her old life, and focus on her new one.

"Boston, here I come."

It took nearly two hours, which seemed to drag on for Regina as she drove the speed limit out of Storybrooke. There were no cars heading towards her old town, and she had started to wonder if leaving was the right thing to do. How long would it take them to notice that she was gone? She wondered if Emma would be the first to notice, going to her office to bring her coffee or something, and see that Regina wasn't there. The blonde would probably call her cellphone, which was conveniently placed on the table just inside her mansion door. Anyone that went there would find the door unlocked, and two notes addressed to Henry and Emma. She told herself that Henry would probably just throw his away, but Emma would fish it out of the trash, wanting to know what the former queen had said.

If Emma decided to read the notes, she would find Henry's saying that Regina loved him, and that she would do anything for him, but sitting in the background and watching him be happy with her former step daughter was not something she could physically do. It made her sick. Emma's note was short and simple, "I love you." That's all it said on the 3x5 card Regina left her. She had spent nearly twenty minutes trying to decide what to say, and that was the only thing she could come up with. She loved the blonde, and wanted to tell her so badly, but crossing the town line was the only way she allowed herself to tell Emma.

Reaching the hotel room that she had booked for herself before she had left her mansion, she brought up a couple bags she knew she would need, leaving the rest in her car. Regina knew that she needed to find an apartment, but couldn't bring herself to do it just yet, finding an apartment would mean that it was permanent, ad permanent meant no Emma and Henry. She silently wished that one of them would show up at the hotel door, knock timidly, and ask for her to come back. But she knew that would never happen.

It was nearly dark when she finally settled into the used hotel bed, having gone and got something to eat, and bought a disposable cellphone. She didn't know what she would use it for yet, but she had one just in case. Regina pulled out a slip of paper from the front of her purse, seeing Emma and Henry's phone number scrawled on it, and she silently wondered if she should call them, tell them she's gone. Shaking her head, she laid her phone and the piece of paper down on the hotel desk, leaving them there will she got ready for bed. It had been a long day, and she would be lying if she didn't say that she wasn't tired.

Waking up the next morning, it took Regina a few moments to register where she was, it wasn't the bedroom she had woke up in for the past thirty years. Once she gathered her bearings, Regina grudgingly pulled herself out of bed, and grabbing clothes from her suitcase, and sliding herself into the shower. Washing away all her worries, she forced a smile onto her face as she walked out her hotel door, not knowing where she was going, but needing to absorb the city around her in, so she could start her new life.

Boston was completely different from Storybrooke, no one she passed knew who she was. There was no little half nods of people trying to be polite, and no one trying to gain her attention about something that no one else cared about but them. Small town life had been fun, for the first thirty years, but she decided it was time for a change in scenery. Boston was the perfect place to do it. There were thousands of people she hustling and bustling as she ordered her coffee from a small café on the corner, and made her way through the streets, wandering wherever her feet took her. She had tried to memorize all the little details about the city, as if she would blink and it would all be gone. Regina decided that by lunch, this was the city to get lost in, loving the fact that she knew no one yet.

Passing by a bail bonds office, Regina wondered what it would have been like if she was to walk by the window and see Emma sitting at one of the desks, pouring over the files in front of her. She stopped in front of the company, trying to see past the logo on the glass at a blonde woman that she could have sworn was the woman of her dreams if she hadn't known better. Forcing her feet to keep walking before the odd woman noticed her staring at her, she continued down the street, eventually coming to a park.

The park had a playground, with grass surrounding it, looking like it went of forever. Her mind drifted to dreaming of Henry, when he was younger, playing at a park like this. The playground was that of a castle made of all wood, and sculptures of guards standing out at the front gate. There was a fake moat surrounding the structure, made of a bouncy blue material, that had kids bouncing like a trampoline. Walking further onto the grass, Regina sat down on a nearby bench, occasionally sipping her coffee, and watching the random families throughout the park. There was one toddler that caught her attention, brown curly hair looking like Roland, making her heart beat faster, but when the boy turned towards her, the two looked nothing alike.

She sat there for nearly two hours before her legs started to get restless, so she forced her body to stand, and made her way back towards her hotel. It took a little while to actually find the hotel, having walked a lot more than what she had originally thought. The bell man in the elevator pressed the button for her, already knowing who she was. They apparently hadn't had very many guests like her before. Regina heard him mutter something under his breath, but when she turned to ask him what he said, he just smiled and gestured at the door that was about to open. She could have sworn she had seen him before.

The rest of the day seemed to drag by slowly, she spent the rest of her time ordering room service, and watching random TV shows that were on. When her meal was brought to her an hour later, the same bellman from the elevator brought her food in, asking her if she needed anything else. Regina shook her head, and gave the man a small tip for bringing her food. As he left she could have sworn he had bowed in her direction, and she couldn't tell if it was hotel policy, or if it was her imagination.

When her food was done, she pushed the cart of dirty dishes out the hallway, letting a maid or hotel staff take it away. Regina shut off the TV, going instantly over to the old wooden desk, and picking up her new cellphone. Her fingers itched to dial Emma's number and see if anyone was looking for her, but she knew she shouldn't.

Before she knew what she was doing, she pushed the buttons to call Emma, her whole body stiffening when it started to ring. She should just push the end button, and pretend she never did it at all. But part of her wanted to hear the sound of the voice of the woman she loved. Pulling the device up to her ear, she waited for the blonde to pick up. She held her breath when she heard the phone click.

"Hello?" Emma's voice said, and Regina couldn't hide the silent tear that slid down her cheek. "Hello?" the blonde tried again when she didn't answer. "Okay then…." She said really slowly, eventually hanging up when Regina didn't say anything. Emma had no idea it was even her because she had changed her number when the bought her phone, and that was the way it was meant to be.

Tears were openly falling on her face now, hearing those four words from the woman she loved, had set her nerves of fire. It had been twenty four hours, and she missed her son and his birth mother more than she thought she would. Originally when Regina crossed the town line, she thought she could just get to her hotel room, and forget everything else that had ever happened. Leaving the Enchanted Forest, and eventually Storybrooke, was supposed to be a distant memory, but it was at the forefront of her mind.

Falling into a fitful sleep, Regina was awaken by the sun shining through the clear curtains of the hotel. Going through her morning routine, she followed her footsteps back to the same bail bonds place as the day before. She was hoping to see the blonde woman she saw earlier that looked so much like Emma. Disappointed when she finally got there, finding out the woman was not at her desk, she drug her feet to the coffee shop down the road. It was nearly empty save for an old man sitting by the window, reading a book and people watching.

Regina ordered her coffee, black, and took a seat closes to the bathrooms. She figured people would leave her alone if she sat in the most undesirable place in the whole shop. She was wrong.

A red headed woman, slipped into the chair across from her, her mind wavering slightly from the book she was pretending to read. Instead she had just been looking at the same page for the past forty five minutes, thinking of the people she had left behind, every once and a while taking a sip of her now-cold coffee. The two of them sat like that for a full minute, before the other woman spoke, trying to gain Regina's attention.

"You must be new here, or visiting." She stated, waiting for the brunette to look up.

Regina nodded, not in the mood to talk to the other woman, but placed her book down anyways. "Yes, I just moved here."

The red head nodded, looking deep in thought as she took in Regina's features. "I'm Shelby," she stuck out her well-manicured hand, offering it to the other woman.

"Regina."

"It's nice to meet you."

Regina glanced down at her book, one hand resting on top of it, holding the secret pictures of Emma and Henry in place just on the other side of the cover. She slipped into a political smile, and brought the book to her chest protectively, not wanting the pictures to fall out. "Is there something I can do for you?" The brunette took note of all the other empty tables around her, wondering why Shelby had decided to sit with her for all reasons.

"Can I show you around town?" Shelby asked, her smile reminding Regina of Emma.

She looked the red head up and down, she was not unpleasant to look at, but she was definitely not Emma. The woman she had been pining over for the past year. Shaking her head politely, declining, she made up some reason why she couldn't go. Shelby seemed slightly sad as she walked away, but not before slipping a small piece of paper onto the spotless table in front of her, a seven digit phone number on the front. "In case you need it," she had muttered before slipping silently out of the coffee shop.

It took another hour of Regina 'reading' her book before she finished her coffee and left. The sun was shining high in the sky that day, making another nice day for a walk. She found herself walking towards the same park as the day before, but forced her feet to keep walking by, there was no reason to be there, she told herself. Looking at children was just going to make her miss Henry more than she already did. The leaves on the trees she passed were bright green, reminding her of the apple tree she had grown since she was a small child herself. Who was going to take care of it since she was now gone? Her own son hated her, so he would probably just chop it down if he could, but she hoped Emma would take pity on it when it started to slowly die, and nurse it back to health.

By nightfall Regina was changing into a cocktail dress she had packed in her car, perfecting her makeup before she left the hotel for the second time that day. During her walk earlier in the morning, she had noticed there was a cool little bar just around the corner. Knowing she could go for a couple of drinks right about then, she clicked her heels against the pavement, pushing her way through the crowd that was out past dark. She wasn't used to the thought of so many people being up that late, and on the streets, city life was different from a town that was cursed and made completely up of fairy tale characters.

The bar was packed when Regina arrived, the smell of booze and cigarettes filled the air. The brunette noticed the way the establishment quieted down considerably as she opened the door, everyone looking at her. Regina was beautiful and she knew it. Making her way towards the bar, a couple of guys stood up, giving her the only seat left in what seemed like the entire place. If people were going to treat her like that all the time, it was going to make her miss being queen over thousands of people.

She ordered a beer, and enjoyed the way people seemed to be gawking at her. Regina could go home with any one of the people there, and she would almost be okay with it. No one had approached her yet, so she swung her chair around, leaning back against the bar, holding her beer in one hand, and crossing her legs, making her skirt slide up slightly. The men around her were trying not to look, and focus on their girlfriends, but some were failing. So far she had seen one man get slapped, before the woman that was holding his hand stormed out angry, shooting daggers at Regina as she walked by.

By the time she had drank a couple beers, she had turned back around, the crowd now gathered in the small room, uninteresting to her. She was just about to leave to go back to her hotel, when she felt someone sit down on a stool beside her. The whole hour and a half she had been there, no one had been brave enough to sit on either side of her. Regina took another swig out of the bottle, finishing it off, and looked to see who had decided they were strong enough to talk to her. It was Shelby, the woman from the coffee shop earlier.

The other woman's hair was pushed back into a messy bun, leaving stray pieces framing her face. She was leaning against the counter, talking to the bartender, her blood red dress hugging her in the all the right places. Regina glanced back to the man a few feet behind them, and noticed him trying to decide who's ass to stare at. Rolling her eyes, she placed her attention on the red haired woman who was now taking a sip of the margarita she had just ordered.

Shelby took a second to scratch at the back of her hand before looking over at the brunette, a wide smile forming over her face. "Hey, fancy seeing you here." She took another drink.

Regina signaled to the man behind the bar to get her another beer, so much for leaving. "Yes, it is a surprise indeed." Her hand reached up to circle the tiny rim of the new bottle.

The two of them sat like that for a while, making small talk, ignoring one guy that came up and asked if all three of them wanted to leave together. Regina blushed at the questions, but Shelby seemed to be used to it as brushed the man off, and averted his attention to another young lady across the dance floor. The two women watched as he walked directly over to the other woman, and whispered something in her ear. She must have had more to drink than Regina had, because the younger woman instantly grabbed his hand, and walked out of the bar. Things were not like they were back in Storybrooke.

Shelby and Regina talked for nearly two hours, once the man left, and found out they had a lot more in common than they had thought. "You wanna get out of here?" the red haired woman asked after a while, the noise of the bar growing quieter.

Regina realized for the first time in a long time, for the past two hours, she hadn't thought about Emma or Henry, but was focused solely on the beautiful woman in front of her. She nodded, downing the rest of her beer in one go, trying to count the number she had actually had, before Shelby grabbed her hand, and spun her around, forcing her to nearly fall over. Strong arms wrapped around her waist instantly, stopping her from going anywhere. Regina looked up to find bright blue eyes staring back at her. She was just about to lean in and kiss her savior in a drunken haze, when a loud shout could be heard across the bar.

"Regina?" It was Emma.

She was on the other side of the bar within just a few short steps, Regina pulling out of Shelby's arms immediately. The blonde woman had found her, how? "What are you doing here?" She asked hesitantly, not trying to get her hopes up.

Emma bent over slightly, trying to catch her breath before she answered, her eyes flicking over to the red head who was rolling her eyes and picking up her purse. Emma and Regina watched her walk out of the bar, leaving them standing there alone in a crowd of people. Green eyes tried to make contact with brown, but she couldn't hold it for more than a few seconds. Taking a deep breath, Emma stood up straight, gathering the confidence she needed to confront the now former mayor.

"I love you too."

Regina's eyes closed, her hands forming fists, had she heard her right? Emma loved her? There was no way the Savior of an entire town could love the person who cast the curse. She was the blonde woman's enemy according to the son they shared. Standing there in the middle of a busy bar, there was no way that Emma had found her. Reaching up a slow hand, she gasped slightly when she felt Emma's beating heart underneath her palm. The savior was standing there in front of her.

Everything around them seemed to stop, time stood still, the music faded out to silence. Emma brought her hands up to cover Regina's that was sitting on her chest. Leaning forward she looked the brunette in the eyes, asking permissions, before stepping forward the extra inch and sealing their lips together. The kiss was unlike either of them had ever experienced, there was so much passion, and love, that it left Regina breathless when the blonde finally pulled away.

"Let's go home," Emma whispered, her forehead resting against her lover's, having already figured out a way to get past the barrier.

"Home." Regina confirmed, home was wherever the blonde woman was. Home was where she was loved and cared for. The two of them interlocked their fingers, before pushing their way through the crowd that had formed around them. They were going home.


End file.
